EXXONMOBIL PIPELINE CO

Incident Narrative

AN ESTIMATED 18.7 BBLS. OF CRUDE OIL WAS RELEASED TO SOIL FROM A PIPE 'JUMP-OVER' CONNECTION AT THE BELLE ROSE VALVE SITE. THE RELEASE WAS DISCOVERED AND REPORTED TO EMPCO REPRESENTATIVES BY A VEGETATION CONTROL CONTRACTOR ON 8/19/11 AT APPROXIMATELY 9:45AM. BOTH THE SOUTH LOUISIANA AND NORTH PIPELINE SYSTEMS WHICH TRAVERSE THE BELLE ROSE SITE WERE IMMEDIATELY SHUT DOWN AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE PERSONNEL AND EQUIPMENT WERE MOBILIZED TO THE SITE. AGENCY NOTIFICATIONS WERE MADE (NRC AND LA STATE POLICE). THE MAJORITY OF THE CRUDE OIL RELEASE WAS CONTAINED WITHIN EMPCO PROPERTY. HOWEVER, STAINED SOIL WAS DISCOVERED ALONG A 20 FT. LENGTH OF DRY IRRIGATION DITCH WHICH IS PARALLEL AND APPROXIMATELY 3 FT. FROM THE EMPCO PIPELINE STATION PROPERTY LINE. THE UNMANNED BELLE ROSE SITE CONTAINS BLOCK VALVES AND PIPING WHICH JOIN THE PARALLEL SOUTH LOUISIANA AND NORTH PIPELINE SYSTEMS. NO RECENT WORK OR ABNORMAL CONDITIONS HAD OCCURRED AT THE SITE OR ON EITHER PIPELINE SYSTEM. A WEEKLY WALK-AROUND SITE INSPECTION WAS PERFORMED ON 08/17/11 AT 4:30 PM AND AN AERIAL OVER-FLIGHT INSPECTION (AND CONNECTING ROW) WAS PERFORMED ON 08/18/11 (APPROXIMATELY NOON). NEITHER SITE INSPECTION INDICATED ANY EVIDENCE OF THE RELEASE. SUSPECTED INTERNAL CORROSION IN THE BOTTOM QUADRANT OF THE 12' DIA. (0.406' W.T., GR. X42, SMLS) NORTHERN PIPE JUMP-OVER WAS THE SOURCE OF THE RELEASE. THE JUMP-OVER PIPING WAS INSTALLED IN 1994 FOR PIPELINE SYSTEM FLOW RELIABILITY BY PROVIDING AN ALTERNATIVE PARALLEL FLOW PATH IN THE EVENT OF A PIPELINE SYSTEM FAILURE ON EITHER PIPELINE SECTION. THE TWO PIPELINE SYSTEM WERE SEGREGATED IN 2003. THE PIPELINE JUMP OVER WAS PERMANENTLY REMOVED. SIMILAR JUMP OVERS ON THE PIPELINE SYSTEM, ARE BEING DRAINED AND ISOLATED, OR HAVE BEEN BUT ON A SCHEDULE TO INDUCE FLOW THROUGH THE PIPELINE SECTION TO PREVENT THE NO FLOW CONDITION.